Advisory Board Biography Samuel Altschuler Samuel Altschuler was the Founder, Chairman and President (1970-1998) of Altron Incorporated of Wilmington, MA, a leading manufacturer of advanced electronic equipment. In 1998, Altron merged with Sanmina, a west coast based electronic manufacturing company. Mr. Altschuler became Executive Vice President of Sanmina and a member of the Board of Directors. In 1999, Mr. Altschuler retired after 50 years in the electronics industry. Mr. Altschuler was the President of the IPC, the international trade association of the printed circuit and contract manufacturing industry from 1992 to 1994 and in 1994, he received the associations Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Altschuler holds a BSEE degree from the University of Connecticut and in 2004 he was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Engineers at the University. Mr. Altschuler holds an MBA degree from Northeastern University where he is a member of the corporation and serves on the Board of Visitors of the Business School and the Advisory Board of the School of Technological Entreprenuership. Mr. Altschuler was formerly a Director of Massbank Corp., a bank holding company. He currently serves on the endowment committee of the Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary and is an overseer of the Boston Lyric Opera. Mr. Altschuler also serves as a director of Altronics Manufacturing Inc. and advises several companies on financial and management issues. Roger W. Blethen Roger W. Blethen was appointed chairman of the board of LTX-Credence Corporation in December 2008. He was elected a director of LTX Corporation in 1980 and continued in that role following the formation of LTX-Credence in August 2008. He served as chairman of the board of LTX Corporation from December 2001 until the formation of LTX-Credence in August 2008. Blethen was chief executive officer of the LTX Corporation, a position he held from September 1996 to October 2005. Blethen was also a president of the company from 1994 to 1996 and a senior vice president of the company from 1985 until 1994. In addition, he was a founder of the company and has served in a number of other senior management positions with the company since its formation in 1976. David E. Brook David Brook is a founding Principal of the firm. He has represented university and corporate clients for over forty years in intellectual property matters in many fields, including chemistry, chemical engineering, materials, biotechnology and medical devices. Previously, he served on the corporate patent staffs of Itek Corporation, the Atlantic Research Corporation and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Dave has been a member of the Board of Directors of several high technology corporations and serves on the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and as a Corporator of Boston Biomedical Research Institute. He is also a former Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University Law School and at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he also served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property. Dave has presented many invited lectures, including lectures at the M.I.T. Innovation Center and for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, and has appeared as an expert witness in litigation. Joe Caruso “Advocate for entrepreneurs” For the last 20 years Joe has served as mentor, coach, and personal advisor to CEO’s and entrepreneurs — dealing with issues of strategy, leadership, team building, and venture capital and matters of personal growth. In recent years, he has served as investor and active director with numerous companies, public and private. Joe has served as interim CEO for companies in need of strategic change and has served as personal advisor to numerous company presidents. Joe is a Director and active investor in Boston MicroMachines and i2Chem. He is currently a member of CommonAngels, eCoast Angels, and a Managing Partner of Brookwood Partners, and was previously a principal in Walnut Venture Associates, all investment groups for early stage companies. Joe is past-president of the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), a member of the advisory board for the Boston University Photonics Center and Northeastern University's School of Technological Entrepreneurship. Joe has served as a Charter Member of TIE Boston (The Indus Entrepreneur), a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. Joe is recipient of the Leadership in Private Corporate Governance award from the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter. A graduate of Northeastern University (BSEE with honors) and the Harvard Business School (MBA). Previous board memberships include: ACT Medical, Acumenta, Adhesive Technologies, American Fantasy Sports, Audiofile, Boston Restaurant Associates, Coffee Connection, Colonial Mills, Common Angels, Corion, Cyborg Corporation, General Analysis, Haymarket Bank, Iconics, Laser Science, Metrisa, MicroE, Nimbit, Qiave Technologies, QD Vision, Quant Funds (trustee); Tytronics, Wwwhoosh, Zentox, the Turnaround Management Association (founding director, New England Chapter), the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), the Association for Corporate Growth (New England Chapter) and WEST (Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology). Joe has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. Early in his career, Joe worked at Teradyne and Autex, Inc., and was CEO at Cyborg Corporation, a venture-funded company that was a pioneer in the use of PC’s in laboratory and factory automation. Richard Corley Rich brings more than 20 years of experience leading and contributing to technology-based companies. He is responsible for leading Akorri's engineering and R&D teams. Before founding Akorri, Rich was the founder and Executive Vice President at Pirus Networks, where he was responsible for the company's overall leadership, technical strategy, and product architecture leading up to its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in 2002. Previously, Rich was Director of Advanced Technology at Nortel. Earlier in his career, Rich held founding and engineering management positions at Aptis, Arris, Chipcom, Data General, and Concord Data Systems. Rich holds an MSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a BSET from Northeastern University. Rich is an active member of the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board at Northeastern and was awarded the College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award in 2004. John Cullinane CEO, Main Message John Cullinane was founder of Cullinane Corporation, a company Wall Street analysts viewed as the first successful software products company in the world. As such, it was the first to have an IPO, the first to be listed on the NYSE, and the first to reach a billion dollars in valuation. The main message process was a key tool in the success of the company because it allowed the company to re-position its product line every two years, for fourteen years, thus keeping the competition on the defensive. In essence, a main message is really a selling message. In recent years, John has used this unique process to help other organizations, companies, political candidates, and individuals etc. create their own main messages. It has proven to be as valuable to them as it was to the Cullinane Corporation. John is a graduate of, and a recipient of an honorary degree, from Northeastern University. He also is a recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Ulster, the first such degree ever awarded outside of the island of Ireland for his work in promoting peace in Northern Ireland through jobs. In addition, he has received honorary degrees from Suffolk University, and UMASS-Boston, and UMASS-Lowell. He was also a Fellow in the Center for Business & Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. During the past six years, he has promoted the Northern Ireland experience as a role model for peace in the Middle East through jobs and economic development. This included organizing a conference hosted by the University of Ulster on this topic in Belfast, Northern Ireland, attended by Israeli, Palestinian and key participants in the struggle for peace in the Middle East. As a result, he has been invited to participate as a member of the Aspen Institute's Middle East Strategy Group, which has endorsed his idea for "smart" call centers for the Middle East. Bob Davis General Partner, Highland Venture Partners Bob is a General Partner at Highland focusing primarily on digital media and the internet and has been with the firm since 2001. Prior to joining Highland, Bob served as the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Lycos (TRLY) formed in October 2000 with the $5.5 billion acquisition of Lycos by Terra Networks of Spain. Previously, Bob was the Founder of Lycos, Inc (LCOS) and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception in 1995 where he led Lycos from a start-up with $2 million in venture capital funding to become the most visited online destination in the world with over 100 million unique visitors. Under his leadership, Lycos jumped from the fastest IPO in Nasdaq history, a mere nine months from inception to offering, to a global media entity and an esteemed member of the Nasdaq 100. Bob has served on the boards of several public and private sector companies including John Hancock (JHFS), Ticketmaster (TCMS), Terra Lycos (TRLY), Lycos (LCOS) and Lycos Europe (LCY). He also serves as a Trustee for Children’s Hospital Trust Board, The Rivers School and also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Northeastern University School of Technological Entrepreneurship. Bob has advised former President Clinton on matters relating to internet commerce and regulation and has addressed Congress, The United Nations, The National Press Corps and the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations on similar matters. Education Northeastern University, B.S. Babson College, M.B.A. Bentley College, Honorary Doctorate of Commercial Sciences Northeastern University, Honorary Doctorate Honors Bob has been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and received the Massachusetts Interactive Media Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Abbot Gilman Mr. Gilman is a successful serial entrepreneur, investor and advisor to venture funds and emerging technology companies.Mr. Gilman was a Founder, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Broadband Access Systems, Inc. (BAS), a private company that was acquired by ADC Telecommunications, Inc. in September, 2000.Prior to co-founding BAS, he was a Principal and Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Applied Network Technology, Inc., acquired by Fore Systems in May of 1995.Following the acquisition at Fore Systems, as Director of Marketing, he successfully launched Fore's Ethernet Switch product line. Mr. Gilman spent 17 years at Digital Equipment Corporation in various Management & Marketing roles.He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events.He holds a BS degree in Business Administration from Northeastern University with Honors and an MBA from Babson College. George S. Kariotis George (born 1923) is a businessman who was the Republican Party nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986. Kariotis is the son of Greek immigrants. He graduated from Northeastern University in 1940, and then served in the United States Navy during World War II. In 1962, he founded Alpha Industries, a manufacturer of microwave components. He was Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Affairs from 1979 to 1983 under governor Edward J. King. Kariotis ran a write-in campaign in the 1986 Republican primary for Massachusetts governor, and finished third with 17% of the vote. He became the nominee when the two candidates who finished ahead of him both withdrew from the race due to personal scandals. In the general election, he was defeated by Michael Dukakis by a margin of 69% to 31%. Kariotis is a major donor to Northeastern University and is an emeritus vice-chairman of the university's board of trustees. Richard Klein Mr. Klein, a Co-Founder of Mycosol Inc., serves as Mycosol's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. He is a 30-year veteran of the healthcare industry, having served in a general management capacity at both large and small (early-stage) companies, including: ArgoMed, Angiosonics, Edward Weck Company (subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Bard Medsystems Division (of C.R. Bard). During his career, Mr. Klein has led some significant product development efforts and market introductions, including: balloon angioplasty, patient controlled analgesia (PCA), the Mini-Infuser and "Smart" Pump drug delivery systems, minimally invasive surgery (laparoscopy), endometrial and prostatic ablation by thermotherapy, and ultrasound thrombus ablation. He holds both a BS and an MS in Engineering from Northeastern University, an MBA from Babson College, and was the subject of a Harvard Case Study on intrapreneurs - i.e., entrepreneurs who work in large companies - which was featured in a 1988 business text, General Managers In Action, by Francis Joseph Agular. He also holds numerous medical device patents, issued or pending. Leslie B. Lewis Leslie B. Lewis (Buddy) Graduate of The University of Vermont and Northeastern University. After graduation, Mr. Lewis was a member of The Submarine Service. He was an engineer on The USS Bashaw SS241. After leaving the Navy was employed as a sales engineer for The Kennecott Copper Corporation/Chase brass and Copper Division. He later became Vice President of Conant Controls Inc. a maker of precision selector devices. In 1974 he co-founded Asahi/America, a manufacturer of non-metalic fluid flow devices. The company became publically traded on NASDAQ in 1996. After retiring from Asahi, Mr. Lewis became the operations partner of Watermill Ventures, a private equity firm. During that time, Mr. Lewis founded Fenway-Nokona, an LLC that purchased the assets of Nokona Athletic Goods, a 4th generation maker of baseball equipment. The American made products are manufactured here in Massachusetts: Fall River and Worcester. Mr. Lewis resides in Chestnut Hill with his wife Nannette. Roger Marino Roger M. Marino graduated Northeastern University in 1961. In 1979 Marino founded the high technology design and manufacturing company EMC Corporation with his former Northeastern roommate, Richard Egan. He served as the company's president until he retired from the position in 1992. EMC Corporation entered the Fortune 500 Companies list in 1994. Since his retirement, Marino has been active in funding a number of start-up companies. In 2001 Mr. Marino founded the film production company Revere Pictures. Marino currently serves as a director of TechTarget, Incorporated. Jeffrey P. McCarthy Jeff McCarthy joined North Bridge Venture Partners in December 1998. Prior to joining North Bridge, he was the President and CEO of New Oak Communications, a leading provider of extranet access switches. Once New Oak was acquired by Bay Networks, a Nortel Networks line of business, Jeff served as Vice President and General Manager of the Access Division. Prior to New Oak Jeff was the Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Cadia Networks, a developer of ATM concentrator products for the service provider marketplace. Prior to Cadia, Jeff spent eight years at Wellfleet Communications/Bay Networks where he held various senior management positions, including Vice President of Carrier Operations. Jeff is a graduate of Northeastern University, School of Management (Magna Cum Laude), and received his MBA (magna cum laude) from Bentley College. Mark D. McWilliams Director, Spectrascience Inc, San Diego, CA Since June 2007, Mark McWilliams has served as the CEO of Medipacs, Inc a development stage infusion pump company. Prior to that, from December 2003 to November 2005 he was Director of Cell Imaging and Analysis at Beckman Coulter after the sale of Q3DM to Beckman in December 2003. He was President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Q3DM, from October 2001 to December 2003, a life-sciences startup that raised several angel and venture capital funding rounds. Previously, he was founder and COO of Medication Delivery Devices ('MDD'), an alternate care infusion systems company that was acquired by Baxter Healthcare in 1996. Mr. McWilliams served as a VP of Research and Development at Baxter Healthcare for three years following the sale of MDD. Prior to MDD, he served as Product Development Manager at the founding of Block Medical where he was responsible for bringing the company's first two FDA approved products rapidly to market. Block was sold to Hillenbrand Industries in 1991. He previously worked for Hughes Aircraft, Vacuum General and Martin Marietta. He earned his MSME from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his BSME from Northeastern University and holds eight utility patents. Dr. Robert J. Shillman Dr. Robert J. Shillman is the Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cognex Corporation, the world's leading supplier of machine vision systems (computers that can "see"). Since founding Cognex in 1981, Dr. Shillman has gained international recognition not only for the high growth and profitability of Cognex, but also for his unique work hard/play hard management style that includes perks such as a company pinball room and Frisbee field, elaborate Halloween parties, and free trips to the seven wonders of the world for long-term employees. The company's outstanding financial performance has earned it repeated recognition from publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Barron’s and Industry Week. Dr. Shillman was named Inc. Magazine's High-Tech Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990; he received the Leadership Achievement Award from the Automated Imaging Association in 1992, and, in 2005, he received the annual North American SEMI award in recognition for his substantial contributions to automated semiconductor processing. Prior to founding Cognex Corporation in 1981, Dr. Shillman held faculty positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Tufts University in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He holds a B.S.E.E. from Northeastern University, and an M.S.E.E. and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his doctoral studies were in the field of machine vision and artificial intelligence. He has published over 20 technical papers and is recognized as an authority in the area of optical character recognition (OCR) and industrial uses of machine vision. In June 2000, Dr. Shillman received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University in recognition of his significant accomplishments in expanding both the technology of machine vision and its role in automated manufacturing in factories around the world. In September 2008, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan where he is currently a Visiting Professor of International Business at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies. Dr. Shillman splits his time between finding new uses for machine vision to grow Cognex’s business, helping his wife, Mao, to raise his two young boys (Max and Barney), racing cars (to relax!) and various philanthropic causes ranging from supporting a “retirement home” for Gibbons in South Carolina to providing financial aid for students to study engineering. He sits on a variety of philanthropic boards (he is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the following organizations: Northeastern University, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and The David Horowitz Freedom Center). He has made major gifts to Northeastern University where he has endowed the Robert J. Shillman Chair of Entrepreneurship and which has named its major classroom building, Shillman Hall, in his honor, to Waseda University that named the building housing its Center for Entrepreneurship, Shillman Hall, in his honor, to the Israel Institute of Technology where he endowed the Robert J. Shillman Career Advancement Chair and which named the plaza of its physics research center in his honor, and to MIT where he endowed the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professorship. He tells everyone that his Ph.D. no longer stands for Doctor of Philosophy, but for Doctor of Philanthropy. Jean C. Tempel Jean Tempel is Managing Director of First Light Capital LLC, a small venture fund, investing in early stage startups in technology related fields. Jean has been an executive in major NE banks in the investing, marketing, and information management and operations areas. During the 1980's, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of The Boston Company, where she built the systems and operations organizations, as the company became the fifth largest custodian of investments in the world. She left banking technology arena and in the early 90’s, became President and Chief Operating Officer of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a PA venture firm and in that capacity, was a founding investor and director of Cambridge Technology Partners. In 1994, she returned to Boston and worked as a general partner with TL Ventures and Internet Capital Group. In 2000, Jean started her own small venture firm. She is a member of Walnut Venture Associates, a group of technology oriented executives, who invest in early stage technology ventures. Jean is on the Board of Sonesta International Hotels, Inc., and has been a board member of numerous public companies. As part of her venture activities, she has been a director of over 15 private companies: currently on the Board of JAZD Markets, Inc. and on the advisory board to the Adams Harkness Venture funds. She is a director of The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, The United Way of MA Bay, a founding Board member of the Commonwealth Institute, and on the President’s Council of the MA General Hospital and the Patient-Doctor Partnership of the Bulfinch Medical Group at MGH. Most recently, she has been elected to the Board of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and elected an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has been a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Boards of Connecticut College and Northeastern University, and chair of the Northeastern University Funds and Investment Committee for 9 years. She is also on the boards of Project Hope in Dorchester and St Anthony’s Shrine Guardian’s Council. Most recently, Connecticut College named the college green in her honor, the Tempel Green. Jean received her BA in mathematics from Connecticut College, MS in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and attended the Advanced Management program at Harvard Business School. Jean and her husband live in Brookline and S. Dartmouth, MA and in Fort Myers, FL, the home of Red Sox Spring Training. Roger W. Blethen was appointed chairman of the board of LTX-Credence Corporation in December 2008. He was elected a director of LTX Corporation in 1980 and continued in that role following the formation of LTX-Credence in August 2008. He served as chairman of the board of LTX Corporation from December 2001 until the formation of LTX-Credence in August 2008. Blethen was chief executive officer of the LTX Corporation, a position he held from September 1996 to October 2005. Blethen was also a president of the company from 1994 to 1996 and a senior vice president of the company from 1985 until 1994. In addition, he was a founder of the company and has served in a number of other senior management positions with the company since its formation in 1976. John "Jack" M. Yeaton Jack Yeaton graduated Northeastern University with a B. S. in 1973. He subsequently attended the Harvard University, Business School, Owner/President Management Program between 1982 and1984. Early in his career , Jack joined Keane, Inc., where he worked as an Information Technology Analyst and consultant to large scale computer users in a variety of industries. He was promoted to Branch Systems Manager in 1974. He left the company in 1976 to form Merit Systems, Inc., as its Founder and President. Merit provided computer software services and consulting services to a wide range of industry companies. The company was sold to an international consulting firm and Jack left in 1989. He then founded and acted as the President of MPACT Systems, Inc. MPACT provided packaged software and services to large scale, hub, Electronic Document Interchange user companies. MPACT was sold to an international hardware/software company in 1991 and Jack exited at that time. Since then, Jack has focused on investment in primarily small scale, startup companies whose focus is on some aspect of information technology. In their early stages, Jack has taken board seats, or worked with board members, to address startup issues.
Mr. Altschuler was the President of the IPC, the international trade association of the printed circuit and contract manufacturing industry from 1992 to 1994 and in 1994, he received the associations Distinguished Service Award.
Mr. Altschuler holds a BSEE degree from the University of Connecticut and in 2004 he was elected to the Academy of Distinguished Engineers at the University. Mr. Altschuler holds an MBA degree from Northeastern University where he is a member of the corporation and serves on the Board of Visitors of the Business School and the Advisory Board of the School of Technological Entreprenuership.
Mr. Altschuler was formerly a Director of Massbank Corp., a bank holding company. He currently serves on the endowment committee of the Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary and is an overseer of the Boston Lyric Opera. Mr. Altschuler also serves as a director of Altronics Manufacturing Inc. and advises several companies on financial and management issues.
Blethen was chief executive officer of the LTX Corporation, a position he held from September 1996 to October 2005. Blethen was also a president of the company from 1994 to 1996 and a senior vice president of the company from 1985 until 1994. In addition, he was a founder of the company and has served in a number of other senior management positions with the company since its formation in 1976.
Dave has been a member of the Board of Directors of several high technology corporations and serves on the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research and as a Corporator of Boston Biomedical Research Institute. He is also a former Adjunct Professor at Suffolk University Law School and at the Franklin Pierce Law Center, where he also served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property. Dave has presented many invited lectures, including lectures at the M.I.T. Innovation Center and for Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, and has appeared as an expert witness in litigation.
“Advocate for entrepreneurs”
For the last 20 years Joe has served as mentor, coach, and personal advisor to CEO’s and entrepreneurs — dealing with issues of strategy, leadership, team building, and venture capital and matters of personal growth. In recent years, he has served as investor and active director with numerous companies, public and private.
Joe has served as interim CEO for companies in need of strategic change and has served as personal advisor to numerous company presidents. Joe is a Director and active investor in Boston MicroMachines and i2Chem. He is currently a member of CommonAngels, eCoast Angels, and a Managing Partner of Brookwood Partners, and was previously a principal in Walnut Venture Associates, all investment groups for early stage companies.
Joe is past-president of the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), a member of the advisory board for the Boston University Photonics Center and Northeastern University's School of Technological Entrepreneurship. Joe has served as a Charter Member of TIE Boston (The Indus Entrepreneur), a global not-for-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of entrepreneurship. Joe is recipient of the Leadership in Private Corporate Governance award from the National Association of Corporate Directors New England Chapter. A graduate of Northeastern University (BSEE with honors) and the Harvard Business School (MBA).
Previous board memberships include: ACT Medical, Acumenta, Adhesive Technologies, American Fantasy Sports, Audiofile, Boston Restaurant Associates, Coffee Connection, Colonial Mills, Common Angels, Corion, Cyborg Corporation, General Analysis, Haymarket Bank, Iconics, Laser Science, Metrisa, MicroE, Nimbit, Qiave Technologies, QD Vision, Quant Funds (trustee); Tytronics, Wwwhoosh, Zentox, the Turnaround Management Association (founding director, New England Chapter), the National Association of Corporate Directors (New England Chapter), the Association for Corporate Growth (New England Chapter) and WEST (Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology). Joe has also served as an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
Early in his career, Joe worked at Teradyne and Autex, Inc., and was CEO at Cyborg Corporation, a venture-funded company that was a pioneer in the use of PC’s in laboratory and factory automation.
Rich brings more than 20 years of experience leading and contributing to technology-based companies. He is responsible for leading Akorri's engineering and R&D teams. Before founding Akorri, Rich was the founder and Executive Vice President at Pirus Networks, where he was responsible for the company's overall leadership, technical strategy, and product architecture leading up to its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in 2002. Previously, Rich was Director of Advanced Technology at Nortel. Earlier in his career, Rich held founding and engineering management positions at Aptis, Arris, Chipcom, Data General, and Concord Data Systems. Rich holds an MSEE from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a BSET from Northeastern University. Rich is an active member of the College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board at Northeastern and was awarded the College of Engineering Outstanding Alumni Award in 2004.
CEO, Main Message
John Cullinane was founder of Cullinane Corporation, a company Wall Street analysts viewed as the first successful software products company in the world. As such, it was the first to have an IPO, the first to be listed on the NYSE, and the first to reach a billion dollars in valuation. The main message process was a key tool in the success of the company because it allowed the company to re-position its product line every two years, for fourteen years, thus keeping the competition on the defensive. In essence, a main message is really a selling message.
In recent years, John has used this unique process to help other organizations, companies, political candidates, and individuals etc. create their own main messages. It has proven to be as valuable to them as it was to the Cullinane Corporation.
John is a graduate of, and a recipient of an honorary degree, from Northeastern University. He also is a recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Ulster, the first such degree ever awarded outside of the island of Ireland for his work in promoting peace in Northern Ireland through jobs. In addition, he has received honorary degrees from Suffolk University, and UMASS-Boston, and UMASS-Lowell. He was also a Fellow in the Center for Business & Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
During the past six years, he has promoted the Northern Ireland experience as a role model for peace in the Middle East through jobs and economic development. This included organizing a conference hosted by the University of Ulster on this topic in Belfast, Northern Ireland, attended by Israeli, Palestinian and key participants in the struggle for peace in the Middle East. As a result, he has been invited to participate as a member of the Aspen Institute's Middle East Strategy Group, which has endorsed his idea for "smart" call centers for the Middle East.
General Partner, Highland Venture Partners
Bob is a General Partner at Highland focusing primarily on digital media and the internet and has been with the firm since 2001. Prior to joining Highland, Bob served as the Chief Executive Officer of Terra Lycos (TRLY) formed in October 2000 with the $5.5 billion acquisition of Lycos by Terra Networks of Spain. Previously, Bob was the Founder of Lycos, Inc (LCOS) and served as its President and Chief Executive Officer since its inception in 1995 where he led Lycos from a start-up with $2 million in venture capital funding to become the most visited online destination in the world with over 100 million unique visitors. Under his leadership, Lycos jumped from the fastest IPO in Nasdaq history, a mere nine months from inception to offering, to a global media entity and an esteemed member of the Nasdaq 100.
Bob has served on the boards of several public and private sector companies including John Hancock (JHFS), Ticketmaster (TCMS), Terra Lycos (TRLY), Lycos (LCOS) and Lycos Europe (LCY). He also serves as a Trustee for Children’s Hospital Trust Board, The Rivers School and also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Northeastern University School of Technological Entrepreneurship.
Bob has advised former President Clinton on matters relating to internet commerce and regulation and has addressed Congress, The United Nations, The National Press Corps and the U.S. Council of Foreign Relations on similar matters.
Education
Honors
Bob has been inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs and received the Massachusetts Interactive Media Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
George (born 1923) is a businessman who was the Republican Party nominee for Governor of Massachusetts in 1986.
Kariotis is the son of Greek immigrants. He graduated from Northeastern University in 1940, and then served in the United States Navy during World War II. In 1962, he founded Alpha Industries, a manufacturer of microwave components. He was Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Affairs from 1979 to 1983 under governor Edward J. King.
Kariotis ran a write-in campaign in the 1986 Republican primary for Massachusetts governor, and finished third with 17% of the vote. He became the nominee when the two candidates who finished ahead of him both withdrew from the race due to personal scandals. In the general election, he was defeated by Michael Dukakis by a margin of 69% to 31%.
Kariotis is a major donor to Northeastern University and is an emeritus vice-chairman of the university's board of trustees.
Leslie B. Lewis (Buddy) Graduate of The University of Vermont and Northeastern University. After graduation, Mr. Lewis was a member of The Submarine Service. He was an engineer on The USS Bashaw SS241. After leaving the Navy was employed as a sales engineer for The Kennecott Copper Corporation/Chase brass and Copper Division. He later became Vice President of Conant Controls Inc. a maker of precision selector devices. In 1974 he co-founded Asahi/America, a manufacturer of non-metalic fluid flow devices. The company became publically traded on NASDAQ in 1996. After retiring from Asahi, Mr. Lewis became the operations partner of Watermill Ventures, a private equity firm. During that time, Mr. Lewis founded Fenway-Nokona, an LLC that purchased the assets of Nokona Athletic Goods, a 4th generation maker of baseball equipment. The American made products are manufactured here in Massachusetts: Fall River and Worcester. Mr. Lewis resides in Chestnut Hill with his wife Nannette.
Jeff McCarthy joined North Bridge Venture Partners in December 1998. Prior to joining North Bridge, he was the President and CEO of New Oak Communications, a leading provider of extranet access switches. Once New Oak was acquired by Bay Networks, a Nortel Networks line of business, Jeff served as Vice President and General Manager of the Access Division. Prior to New Oak Jeff was the Vice President of Sales and Business Development at Cadia Networks, a developer of ATM concentrator products for the service provider marketplace. Prior to Cadia, Jeff spent eight years at Wellfleet Communications/Bay Networks where he held various senior management positions, including Vice President of Carrier Operations.
Jeff is a graduate of Northeastern University, School of Management (Magna Cum Laude), and received his MBA (magna cum laude) from Bentley College.
Director, Spectrascience Inc, San Diego, CA
Since June 2007, Mark McWilliams has served as the CEO of Medipacs, Inc a development stage infusion pump company. Prior to that, from December 2003 to November 2005 he was Director of Cell Imaging and Analysis at Beckman Coulter after the sale of Q3DM to Beckman in December 2003. He was President and Chief Executive Officer and Director of Q3DM, from October 2001 to December 2003, a life-sciences startup that raised several angel and venture capital funding rounds. Previously, he was founder and COO of Medication Delivery Devices ('MDD'), an alternate care infusion systems company that was acquired by Baxter Healthcare in 1996. Mr. McWilliams served as a VP of Research and Development at Baxter Healthcare for three years following the sale of MDD. Prior to MDD, he served as Product Development Manager at the founding of Block Medical where he was responsible for bringing the company's first two FDA approved products rapidly to market. Block was sold to Hillenbrand Industries in 1991. He previously worked for Hughes Aircraft, Vacuum General and Martin Marietta. He earned his MSME from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, his BSME from Northeastern University and holds eight utility patents.
Since founding Cognex in 1981, Dr. Shillman has gained international recognition not only for the high growth and profitability of Cognex, but also for his unique work hard/play hard management style that includes perks such as a company pinball room and Frisbee field, elaborate Halloween parties, and free trips to the seven wonders of the world for long-term employees. The company's outstanding financial performance has earned it repeated recognition from publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Barron’s and Industry Week. Dr. Shillman was named Inc. Magazine's High-Tech Entrepreneur of the Year in 1990; he received the Leadership Achievement Award from the Automated Imaging Association in 1992, and, in 2005, he received the annual North American SEMI award in recognition for his substantial contributions to automated semiconductor processing.
Prior to founding Cognex Corporation in 1981, Dr. Shillman held faculty positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at Tufts University in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He holds a B.S.E.E. from Northeastern University, and an M.S.E.E. and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where his doctoral studies were in the field of machine vision and artificial intelligence. He has published over 20 technical papers and is recognized as an authority in the area of optical character recognition (OCR) and industrial uses of machine vision. In June 2000, Dr. Shillman received an honorary Doctor of Business Administration degree from Northeastern University in recognition of his significant accomplishments in expanding both the technology of machine vision and its role in automated manufacturing in factories around the world. In September 2008, he received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan where he is currently a Visiting Professor of International Business at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies.
Dr. Shillman splits his time between finding new uses for machine vision to grow Cognex’s business, helping his wife, Mao, to raise his two young boys (Max and Barney), racing cars (to relax!) and various philanthropic causes ranging from supporting a “retirement home” for Gibbons in South Carolina to providing financial aid for students to study engineering. He sits on a variety of philanthropic boards (he is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the following organizations: Northeastern University, The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, The Friends of the Israel Defense Forces and The David Horowitz Freedom Center). He has made major gifts to Northeastern University where he has endowed the Robert J. Shillman Chair of Entrepreneurship and which has named its major classroom building, Shillman Hall, in his honor, to Waseda University that named the building housing its Center for Entrepreneurship, Shillman Hall, in his honor, to the Israel Institute of Technology where he endowed the Robert J. Shillman Career Advancement Chair and which named the plaza of its physics research center in his honor, and to MIT where he endowed the Robert J. Shillman Career Development Professorship. He tells everyone that his Ph.D. no longer stands for Doctor of Philosophy, but for Doctor of Philanthropy.
Jean Tempel is Managing Director of First Light Capital LLC, a small venture fund, investing in early stage startups in technology related fields. Jean has been an executive in major NE banks in the investing, marketing, and information management and operations areas. During the 1980's, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of The Boston Company, where she built the systems and operations organizations, as the company became the fifth largest custodian of investments in the world. She left banking technology arena and in the early 90’s, became President and Chief Operating Officer of Safeguard Scientifics, Inc., a PA venture firm and in that capacity, was a founding investor and director of Cambridge Technology Partners. In 1994, she returned to Boston and worked as a general partner with TL Ventures and Internet Capital Group. In 2000, Jean started her own small venture firm. She is a member of Walnut Venture Associates, a group of technology oriented executives, who invest in early stage technology ventures.
Jean is on the Board of Sonesta International Hotels, Inc., and has been a board member of numerous public companies. As part of her venture activities, she has been a director of over 15 private companies: currently on the Board of JAZD Markets, Inc. and on the advisory board to the Adams Harkness Venture funds.
She is a director of The Dana Farber Cancer Institute, The United Way of MA Bay, a founding Board member of the Commonwealth Institute, and on the President’s Council of the MA General Hospital and the Patient-Doctor Partnership of the Bulfinch Medical Group at MGH. Most recently, she has been elected to the Board of The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and elected an overseer of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has been a Trustee and Vice Chair of the Boards of Connecticut College and Northeastern University, and chair of the Northeastern University Funds and Investment Committee for 9 years. She is also on the boards of Project Hope in Dorchester and St Anthony’s Shrine Guardian’s Council. Most recently, Connecticut College named the college green in her honor, the Tempel Green.
Jean received her BA in mathematics from Connecticut College, MS in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and attended the Advanced Management program at Harvard Business School. Jean and her husband live in Brookline and S. Dartmouth, MA and in Fort Myers, FL, the home of Red Sox Spring Training.
Jack Yeaton graduated Northeastern University with a B. S. in 1973. He subsequently attended the Harvard University, Business School, Owner/President Management Program between 1982 and1984. Early in his career , Jack joined Keane, Inc., where he worked as an Information Technology Analyst and consultant to large scale computer users in a variety of industries. He was promoted to Branch Systems Manager in 1974. He left the company in 1976 to form Merit Systems, Inc., as its Founder and President. Merit provided computer software services and consulting services to a wide range of industry companies. The company was sold to an international consulting firm and Jack left in 1989. He then founded and acted as the President of MPACT Systems, Inc. MPACT provided packaged software and services to large scale, hub, Electronic Document Interchange user companies. MPACT was sold to an international hardware/software company in 1991 and Jack exited at that time. Since then, Jack has focused on investment in primarily small scale, startup companies whose focus is on some aspect of information technology. In their early stages, Jack has taken board seats, or worked with board members, to address startup issues.
Request Information
Apply Now